Bernadette writes:

<<  I am a IBCLC in a public
 health clinic for WIC.  I have a baby 7 days old that has not had a BM for 4
 days.  The ARNPs are not concerned about this.  The mother states she
totally
 breastfeeds.  She has been taking her prenatal vitamins with another FE
pills
 suggested by the hospital.  I suggested to mother to stop extra Fe pill and
 she want happenings along with a high fiber diet for herself.  I have not
 heard of a baby so young not having several BMs per day.  Has anyone else
had
 this problem?? What was the diagnosis?? Thanks, Bernadette Comstock >>

The first red flag this raises:  is the baby getting enough calories?  Punkin
needs to be weighed & see where you are.  Often this is a sign that although
baby is totally breastfed -- how often, and how long on the first side?  If
mom is switching after x number of minutes to put him on the second side, he
may not be receiving enough hind milk.  On the other hand, he may not be
demanding to feed often enough -- is mom trying to put him on a schedule, or
only feeding 6 or 7 times a day.  Sometimes increasing the number of feeds by
one or two is all it takes.  This may be a problem, may be not.  Most likely
it is a sign of not enough to eat -- sometimes it is normal in this baby --
they are simply at the far left side of the bell curve.  But I wouldn't
assume anything until I had investigated it.  Newborns, up until about 4 or 5
weeks of age should have at least 3 to 4 stools a day.  Unfortunately, many
health professionals are still under the delusion that it is perfectly normal
for a healthy newborn to go several days without a stool, and then they are
completely surprised when the baby hasn't regained birth weight in10 days to
2 weeks.

Jan B.